Porsche and Momo, A 35 Year Racing History

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Momo returns to the origin of the Momo brand as main sponsor with the backing of the Momo NGT Motorsport #30 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The history of Momo in racing has been closely linked to several manufacturers including Ferrari, Lola, De Tomaso – Pantera, Ford, March, Alba, Gebhardt, Spice, Nissan and of course Porsche. In fact, the Momo brand appeared more often on Porsche race cars than on any other car make.

Gianpiero Moretti started racing 911 Porsche cars in Italy in the mid 70s and won the Italian GT championship Group 4 before immigrating to the USA at the end of the 70s.

The first Momo Porsche was officially raced in an international racing event on May 15, 1977 at Silverstone. The race was the Six Hours of Silverstone and it was part of the FIA World Sports Car Championship and the car was a Jolly Club Porsche 934 co-driven by Gianpiero Moretti and Italian F1 Star Vittorio Brambilla. The Momo Porsche #9 qualified 8th and finished 7th overall and 1st in the GT class.

The first Momo Porsche race in North America was on April 2, 1978 at Talladega Superspeedway at an IMSA event. The car was a Porsche 935 co-driven by Gianpiero Moretti and Charles Mendez. They started 4th on the grid but only finished 32nd due to an accident. This Momo Porsche was the first ever to bear the #30.

According to archives, Gianpiero Moretti has raced 116 times behind the wheel of a Momo Porsche at an international racing event between 1977 and 1992. The last apparition of a Momo sponsored Porsche in North America before this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona was at an IMSA GTP/Lights on October 2, 1992 at Phoenix International Raceway. The car was a Joest Racing Porsche 962C co-driven by Gianpiero Moretti and John Paul Jr. The final apparition of a Momo Porsche in racing before the return of the Momo NGT Motorsport Porsche in 2012 was at Jarama, Spain for the Interseries on November 1, 1992. The #30 Joest Racing Porsche 962 car was driven by Moretti.

In over one hundred starts in international competition, the #30 Momo Porsches have won twice and scored a total of fifteen podium finishes. The most significant win of a Momo Porsche in North America was on November 30, 1980 at Daytona International Speedway when Gianpiero Moretti won the Daytona 250 season finale of the IMSA GT series. The Joest Porsche 935 co-driven by Gianpiero Moretti and Reinhold Joest qualified 4th and won the race.

In sixteen years racing Porsche race cars in North America, Momo Founder Gianpiero Moretti drove many models of the legendary brand including the Porsche 935 and the 935 Moby Dick between 1978 and 1983, and the Porsche 962 between 1986 and 1992. The Momo logo was also found on the March 82G chassis powered by a Porsche engine in five 1983 races. Moretti also raced other famous Porsche models in Europe; the Porsche 911, 934 in 1977 and the Porsche 956 in 1983.

Gianpiero Moretti started racing the Ferrari 333SP in 1994 until 1998. The last official race of a Momo Ferrari 333SP was the Six Hours of Watkins Glen in 1998. Moretti, Baldi and Theys won that race that ended the official presence of the Momo race cars in North America until 2011.

In 2010 the Momo logo started to be seen again on the NGT Motorsport Porsches in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge. NGT Motorsport won the 2011 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge with Henrique Cisneros last year with a Porsche car co-sponsored by Momo.

Momo made a noticeable comeback this year at the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the NGT team was named Momo NGT Motorsport. The #26 Momo Porsche was the most photographed car in the 24 hour race. After racing a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup in the GT class at Daytona, the iconic #30 Momo Porsche is back in North American racing.

In 2012, the Momo Porsche will continue sponsoring Porsche cars, a tradition established in the 70s and will race all season in the American Le Mans Series in the GTC class starting this week at Sebring. The #30 Porsche will be co-driven by Henrique Cisneros, Carlos Kauffmann and Sean Edwards and the Momo NGT Motorsport Porsche team will have only one goal in mind; add another trophy to the extensive Momo collection.

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